CANADA FX DEBT-C$ falls after retail sales data disappoints

TORONTO, March 22 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar fell
against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday on disappointing
January retail sales data.

The currency CAD=D4 fell to C$0.9782 to the U.S. dollar,
or $1.0223, down from C$0.9756, or $1.0250 just before the data
was released at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT).

The data offers further hints on the state of the Canadian
economy and could help refine expectations on when the Bank of
Canada might raise interest rates for the first time this
year.

Primary dealer forecasts for when the central bank will
increase rates were largely split between its May 31 and July
19 policy announcement dates, according to a Reuters poll last
week. [ID:nN18126761]
(Reporting by Solarina Ho; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)